Q: I’ve read that washing your hair every single working day can strip it of its purely natural oils, generating it dry and brittle and resulting in scalp irritation. Is that correct? And what if I physical exercise frequently?

Whether or not you ought to lather up every day is dependent on a selection of variables, claimed Dr. Murad Alam, vice chair of the division of dermatology at Northwestern College Feinberg Faculty of Medicine. Amongst them, he stated, are your hair’s texture, how oily it will get, how processed it is, your way of life behavior and your age.

Shampoo cleanses your scalp and hair by removing environmental contaminants like filth and pollen, as properly as dandruff, sweat and hair-care merchandise.

It also dissolves sebum, an oily, waxy substance created by the sebaceous glands near your hair follicles. Sebum keeps your scalp from turning out to be far too dry, claimed Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York Town, and protects the pores and skin from infection.

But if sebum builds up, she explained, it can trigger difficulties.

When to wash each day

Using shampoo just about every working day, Dr. Alam stated, can be the appropriate alternative for people today with oilier scalps where sebum can accumulate, earning the hair limp, greasy and maybe smelly.

People with high-quality hair, Dr. Alam reported, may also discover that it turns into greasy much more rapidly, since there is considerably less hair to soak up the oil. For them, a every day lather could be warranted.

Day-to-day washing may perhaps also be essential, Dr. Alam additional, if you regularly use merchandise these kinds of as gels or hair sprays, which can create up on your scalp and result in irritation — or even hinder hair growth by clogging the hair follicles.

When to prevent every day shampooing

Not all hair textures can tolerate a daily clean, Dr. Ingleton stated, like curly or coily hair, which may dry out, turn into brittle or break if washed every day or even each and every couple of days. If you are Black, the American Academy of Dermatology suggests washing your hair every single week or each and every other week.

Dr. Shereene Idriss, a skin doctor and founder of Idriss Dermatology in New York City, has stricter suggestions for washing, no matter of how fantastic or oily hair is.

“When it will come to your scalp well being, I do not regularly recommend washing your hair every single day,” Dr. Idriss mentioned, incorporating that it could direct “to discomfort, inflammation and other scalp complications.”

Chemical therapies these kinds of as hair dyes and relaxers can make the hair shaft much more inclined to harm, Dr. Alam said. He suggested washing chemically dealt with hair two to 3 situations a week.

Particular drugs these kinds of as statins, antihistamines and diuretics, for instance, could also enhance pores and skin and scalp dryness, Dr. Alam said. If you just take them, he included, wash your hair with a light shampoo that contains moisturizers to prevent dryness and irritation.

It can also be practical to use shampoo with heat instead of hot h2o, considering the fact that lathering with sizzling h2o can take away way too significantly oil from the scalp, Dr. Alam claimed.

“While it may appear to be that having the scalp squeaky clear and with out any oils is best, maintain in mind that the scalp is a residing portion of your entire body, and not a meal plate in your dishwasher,” Dr. Alam said.

Age can also dictate your shampooing routine, Dr. Alam said. Sebum generation is commonly slow through early childhood, goes into overdrive all through puberty, concentrations out in the course of adulthood and slows down gradually immediately after age 70. So if you are more mature, your scalp might be drier, and it may possibly not call for a every day scrub.

What to do if you exercise on a regular basis

If you habitually get the job done out and you are an abnormal sweater, Dr. Alam said, the salt from sweat can clog your pores and hair follicles. That may well involve a day by day clean or rinse “to clean up out the salt and secretions,” he said. “If you do not at the very least rinse your hair afterward, you can get irritation of your hair follicles, which is identified as folliculitis, and pimples on your scalp.”

This turns into even more essential if you have oily hair, Dr. Idriss reported. You may want to clean it every day, she added, but you really don’t often need to use shampoo.

“Alternating a shampoo wash with a h2o rinse each and every other day can support reduce stripping your scalp of oil,” Dr. Idriss claimed. And drenching your hair with basic h2o, she extra, “can be adequate to get you to the future working day.”

If you just cannot skip the shampoo, Dr. Idriss explained, decide for a mild formula that has “sulfate-free” or “gentle” promises on the label, and keep away from incredibly hot h2o and extreme scrubbing, both equally of which can irritate the scalp.

As for drying, Dr. Alam proposed air drying whenever achievable, “which is the least traumatic for your hair.”

If you wash your hair each and every day and your scalp is not irritated, your hair isn’t dry or brittle and you are not shedding any hair, Dr. Alam claimed, “then hold executing what you are executing.”